Media Notes

– With ESPN concentrating its weekend focus on college and pro football, Fox Soccer Channel has picked up the slack and is showing a MLS game of the week (which has featured this year’s best team, DC United, the past two weeks). Look for continued coverage on FSC through the MLS playoffs.

– ESPN2 continues its expanded UEFA Champions League coverage this week. After years of getting only one game per week, fans in the United States are treated to live coverage of both Tuesday AND Wednesday games. In addition, two different games are replayed on ESPN Classic on match day. So far the coverage has been focused on Chelsea, Man U, Madrid, and Barcelona and that is just fine with this fan of soccer. Cheers to ESPN as long as they continue the extra coverage throughout the tournament.

– Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos will be re-aired on ESPN on Wednesday, October 18th at 8-10PM (EST). For those who were unfortunate enough to miss the original airing last Wednesday – you have another chance! A fantastic trip that is sure to open your eyes if you think that the roots of soccer passion in this country only extend to 1994 and the World Cup in the USA.

About The Author

A lifelong lover of soccer, the beautiful game, he served from January 2010 until May 2013 as the Director of Communications and Public Relations for the North American Soccer League (NASL).
Raised on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the old NASL, Krishnaiyer previously hosted the American Soccer Show on the Champions Soccer Radio Network, the Major League Soccer Talk podcast and the EPL Talk Podcast.
His soccer writing has been featured by several media outlets including The Guardian and The Telegraph. He is the author of the book Blue With Envy about Manchester City FC.

11 Comments

KartikSeptember 25, 2006

Good job……and I an especially pleased that Once in a Lifetime will air again in October. I have heard such rave reviews about the film even from non-soccer fans.

The NASL was a failure because no emphasis was put on developing American talent. It became a showcase for drunk Brits on holiday. MLS has a much better business model and has had more impact on the world scene.

I find it amazing that ESPN can find time to show UEFA matches but not MLS games. Just like the USSF and all of you on this website they have become Euro snobs.

The de-emphasis on MLS right as the playoffs approach by ESPN is totally unacceptable. Garber needs to shop the rights elsewhere if they are going limit the exposure of the league at the most critical time in the season.

All this Champions league stuf is nice, but why cannot ESPN make some real effort to promote MLS. The games are shown at horrible times or not at all and the highlights are never shown on ESPNEWS or SportsCenter. Yet they show all the Champions League Highlights. I do not get it.

The MLS is viewed as a worldwide joke. The NASL was among the best leagues in the world, and it fell victim to the anti-football bent of the American supporters of sport. With Yanks more interested in football then in the past aleague like NASL would flourish. Some of the best English players left England to play in the NASL. These days English players rarely leave the EPL because it is the best league in the world. In the late 1970s many felt NASL was the best football league in the world.

Do you people really believe people would rather watch the MLS over Champions League? That’s like saying I would rather watch rookie league baseball over the Red Sox vs the Yankees! Get a grip, people!

NASL is seen with such nostalgia even in Europe. Everyone I spoke to on my soccer tour of England knew the Cosmos and many knew of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Chicago Sting, Washington Diplomats and Fort Lauderdale Strikers also. Many of the same people weren’t even able to name an MLS franchise beyond DC United and knew none of the players in the league.

As far as the Champions League, those of you who want MLS to get similar coverage must be smoking some good stuff. Really good stuff.